Press Release

For Release: March 10, 1999
Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110 or [email protected]

African-American Group Critical of Judge's Ruling
Against Academic Standards

NCAA Academic Standards Ensure Accomplishment
in Classroom and on the Field

Members of the African-American leadership network Project 21 are outraged
by the March 8 ruling of a federal judge overturning minimum academic standards
instituted by the NCAA to ensure college athletes receive an education allowing
them to become successful citizens. Project 21 members say Judge Ronald
L. Buckwalter's assertion that standardized tests are biased against African-Americans
is demeaning because it suggests blacks cannot be held to same standards
as other segments of the population. It also significantly diminishes the
guarantee that a player will receive the education he or she needs and deserves.

"For decades, claims of cultural bias have been used to absolve
low-performing African-American students of responsibility for their academic
inadequacies. Now, by striking down the NCAA's eligibility requirements,
a federal judge had legitimized black athletes' excuse for not studying
more or trying harder," said Project 21 member Sharon Hodge. "The
goal should not be to make it as easy as possible for blacks to participate
in collegiate sports. Rather, eligibility should be a privilege bestowed
upon those who are legitimately pursing a college education. Academic standards
are essential to college, and hence, should be the foundation of college
athletics."

In his ruling on a case brought by two high school seniors deemed ineligible
for collegiate track and field competition because their standardized test
scores were below the NCAA minimum, Judge Buckwalter said using such scores
had an "unjustified" effect on black students. Lawyers for the
seniors argued the use of scores for determining athletic eligibility constituted
racial discrimination. The NCAA's academic standards were instituted in
1986 when it was discovered some college players completed their athletic
eligibility long before they met graduation requirements and, in some cases,
were illiterate. A 1992 revision of the standards required freshmen athletes
to have a high school diploma, a minimum standardized test score and a minimum
grade-point average in core academic courses.

NCAA General Counsel Elsa Cole told the Washington Post, "Every
school is [now] going to be making its own decision on this point, and we
are concerned in the long run on what this will do for the student-athlete's
welfare." Essentially, unscrupulous schools could use the ruling to
return college athletics to the days when the well being of the athlete's
academic progress was a distant second priority to their ability on the
court or in the field.

"Judge Buckwalter is implicit in setting black people and other
minorities back to Jim Crow standards," said James Coleman, a Project
21 member and former commissioner of the Los Angeles Unified School District's
Black Education Commission. "Separate but equal indeed."

Project 21 has been a leading voice of the African-American community
since 1992. For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110
or [email protected],
or visit Project 21's website at http://www.project21.org.